DR. WALLACE: My girlfriend and I were dating for over seven months, and we were getting quite serious. One evening, I did something stupid. We got into a heated argument, and it ended abruptly when she called me stupid. I reacted so fast after she said the word. Actually, I slapped her in the face, albeit with an open hand, not a fist. Her reaction was: "I never want to see you again. Leave immediately."

I'm truly sorry and ashamed for my stupid mistake in the heat of an argument. Is there a way I can get her back? Or is there a way to approach her such that she might at least talk to me and let me apologize to her? — Made a Huge, Stupid Mistake, via email

MADE A HUGE STUPID MISTAKE: Your cowardly behavior with your ex-girlfriend is indeed truly unforgivable! A man should never, ever raise his hand to a woman at any time, no matter how heated the argument. What should you have done? You should have told her that you are sorry to see the two of you are disagreeing so vehemently, and then you should have said goodnight and gone home. You did not do that, so you do need to own your actions and the results of your horrible behavior.

You are fortunate that you didn't wind up in jail, because you would have deserved it had she made a domestic violence call to the authorities.

Don't waste your time pursuing your ex-girlfriend right now. She's not going to return to you right away, if ever. Instead, spend your time taking an anger management class, and then behave as a gentleman from here on out whenever you are in the company of a young lady.

Your act was criminal, not a mistake, and you must not repeat it — ever. One thing you can do — once you have successfully completed the anger management courses and learned new techniques to control your behavior — is to have a trusted friend send a message of apology to her on your behalf.

Have this third-party person also mention that you were so shocked at your own behavior that you voluntarily checked into anger management classes and that you've completed them successfully and learned how to handle your behavior.

Your ex-girlfriend will then know that you are serious in terms of your apology, and she will think (and may speak to others) a bit better of you, although you did let her down in a very big and bad way during the incident that ended your relationship.

STICK WITH YOUR STUDIES DESPITE TOUGH CIRCUMSTANCES

DR. WALLACE: I'm 17 and live with my parents. Both of them drink a lot, so much that it makes me think they're totally alcoholics. My mom is a stay-at-home mom. So, that's what she does: She stays at home and watches TV and drinks alcohol, even during the day, starting right after she eats lunch. She pours a glass of wine, and then, if I watch carefully, I see her fill it up usually two more times before dinner. When my dad gets home from work, he joins my mom with even more drinking.

I spend a lot of my free time studying, and I get great grades. Grades are important to me because I plan on going to college someday. My concern is if I moved out and went to another school, my grades might drop. But I can't go to any school right now, other than online classes, because of COVID-19. I sure hope this pandemic ends soon because I want to go to college on a campus in the fall of 2021. I'm fed up with all this online stuff. We barely learn anything, and the teachers can't do the same job they used to do in person. I know they try hard, but it is absolutely not the same. So, I'm really bummed out that the school year is going to start again in September and it will be the same thing all over again.

I'm getting so depressed over my parents always drinking and me having to be cooped up at home, going to school on a computer screen, that I could literally scream — or start drinking myself. Luckily, I know better, and I don't want to get hooked on booze or start gaining weight. I hear there are a lot of empty calories in alcohol — Fed Up With Staying Home, via email

FED UP WITH STAYING HOME: Since you are a good student now and education is of great importance to you, you will do very well in any school you attend once things return to normal. It is not the school that produces good grades; it's a student who is serious about getting a good education that produces success.

So, for now, hang in there, and attend online school the best you can. Continue to work hard on your assignments, and do your best to learn all you can. Don't forget that all of your fellow students are in the same educationally challenged situation you're in. We all hope and trust that a vaccine will be developed soon, which may help facilitate a quicker return to the normalcy of daily life — including being able to attend school in person.

As for your parents, I'm pleased to see that although you are in their home and witness their ongoing consumption up close, you're thinking for yourself and not becoming tempted to follow in their footsteps. Your comment about the empty calories also was spot on.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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